The highest welcome offer of 185,000 points on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is back!
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card just increased the welcome bonus and this card can change the way you travel!
Having this card in my pocket when we traveled to New Zealand, Australia and Fiji saved us thousands and we sure enjoyed traveling next level luxury without the hefty price tag.
The Brilliant card comes PACKED with perks:
🔹 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points
🔹 85,000 annual award night
🔹 Priority Pass lounge access
🔹 TSA PreCheck & Global Entry
🔹 $300 statement credit for dining (up to $25 per month)
🔹 $100 Marriott Bonvoy® Property Credit
🔹 Cell Phone Protection
🔹 25 elite-qualifying nights per year
With PLATINUM Elite Status included you’ll be eligible to receive:
🔹 Room upgrades – even to suites
🔹 Complimentary breakfast
🔹 Welcome amenities
🔹 Late checkout
You’ll have six months to meet the minimum spend requirement of $6,000 to earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points as a welcome bonus. That’s twice as long as most other credit card welcome offers.
NOTE: Amex has restrictions limiting your ability to earn a welcome bonus if you’ve had other Marriott cards. Be sure to review the card offer details to ensure you are eligible.
Offer is set to end on May 14, 2025
The annual fee might shock you at $650 (Rates & Fees), but think of that fee as prepaying on your upcoming vacation. See below for a breakdown of how we’ve easily gotten over $3,500 in value from this card.
* All information about Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card has been collected independently by On Point with Holly. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Value of Marriott Brilliant Benefits
Let’s break down the value of these benefits.
The most valuable benefits on the Marriott Brilliant card are the 185,000 Bonvoy points, the annual 85,000 free award night and holding Platinum status.
Here’s how you can easily get over $3,500 in value from this card.
🔹 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Marriott Bonvoy points
One Bonvoy point is value between 0.7-0.9 cents, but you can get upwards of 2 cents per point (CPP) in some cases.
At a conservative 1.0 CPP those 185,000 points are worth $1,850.
A good way to get additional value from those points is to take advantage of the 5th night free option.
🔹 85,000 Annual Award Night
You will receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
This is the highest award night offered by Marriott and your key to staying at some of the most luxurious Marriott properties around the world.
You can top off these award nights with up to 15,000 Bonvoy points which means you can stay at any Marriott property that requires up to 100,000 Bonvoy points per night.
We’ve used these award nights to stay at properties valued $1,200-$1,500 (see below for a ideas of where these can be used)
🔹 Priority Pass Lounge Access
The value of having lounge access will depend on whether you have this perk with other cards. I hope to never travel without lounge access as it saves us from having to purchase any airport food and is much more comfortable then waiting for a flight at the gate.
This perk gives you and up to two guests access to over 1,600 airport lounges around the world.
🔹 TSA PreCheck & Global Entry
Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your American Express Card. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
This credit can be used for anyone and is valued at $120
🔹 $300 statement credit for Dining (up to $25 per month)
Each month, Marriott Brilliant cardholders receive up to $25 in statement credits for any dining purchases put on the card. Simply can’t be easier!
Dining purchases earn 3x points.
🔹 $100 Marriott Bonvoy® Property Credit
Cardholders receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
🔹 Cell Phone Protection
You need to be paying your cell phone bill with a credit card that includes cell phone protection. This benefit has saved us over $1,000.
You can read more about this perk HERE.
🔹 25 Elite-qualifying nights per year
This benefit can be stacked with the nights you earn on a business card for a total of 40 elite nights each year without any stays.
🔹 Platinum Status
FREE breakfast, FREE upgrades, FREE welcome amenities, FREE late checkout – hard to put a price on perks like that!
Earning points on the Bonvoy Brilliant
Cardholders earn Marriott Bonvoy points at the following rates:
- 6 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at participating Marriott hotels
- 3 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide
- 3 points per dollar on flights booking directly with airlines
- 2 points per dollar on all other purchases
Aside from using my card for to earn the $25 restaurant credit each month, I only use my Brilliant card when I’m staying at a Marriott property. I have other cards in my wallet that earn better rewards on non-Marriott expenses.
Where to use the 85K Award Night
Each year you’ll receive an 85,000 award certificate after your card anniversary.
The Marriott brand offers the most hotel locations in the world so the possibilities are vast. Here are few properties to give you some ideas of where you can use these free award nights.
NOTE: Some Marriott properties have a resort fee that will not be covered by the free night certificate.
Wailea Beach Resort
The Wailea Beach Resort on Maui is an incredible property. We used an 85K award night here and thanks to our platinum status we were upgraded to an ocean-view room that would have cost over $1,500 per night!
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay is set on a picturesque bluff overlooking the ocean and is located near San Francisco. The property is gorgeous! My husband and I used an 85K award night to stay here for our anniversary and thanks to the Platinum status that comes on the Brilliant credit card, we were upgraded to an coastal view room that would have cost over $1,200.
I’m not seeing any nights under 88,000 so you’d need to add a some additional Bonvoy points to stay here with your award night.
I loved everything about this stay! The gorgeous location, the complimentary bikes, the bagpiper at sunset, even the smell of the property was amazing… highly recommend for a weekend away!
Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay
The Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay is a beautiful property. You likely won’t be able to get an overwater bungalow with your award night, but you can stay in a beautiful Duplex Lagoon Bure.
Ritz-Carlton New Orleans
You can’t go wrong with Ritz-Carlton. The Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans is one of the lowest priced Ritz Carlton’s, but the location is prime and the rooms are divine! We were upgraded to a Courtyard room during our stay. This was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in!
St. Regis Deer Valley
St. Regis is another luxury brand offered by Marriott and a great use of an 85K award night. The St. Regis Deer Valley is located near some of the best ski resorts in Utah by Park City and would be a wonderful stay in the mountains.
I’m not seeing any nights under 96,000 so you’d need to add a some additional Bonvoy points to stay here with your award night.
Scottsdale Phoenician Resort
If the desert is more to your liking. Check out the Scottsdale Phoenician Resort in Arizona.
The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage
We’re visiting Palm Springs later this year with friends and I’m eyeing The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage for a little pre-friends getaway. The property looks amazing and would be covered with my free night award.
Bottom Line
Even without my accounting degree I know that we’ve more than made up for the hefty fee on the Amex Marriott Brilliant card and remember you don’t have to keep a card forever. If you decide the benefits don’t justify the annual fee you can easily close the card without losing your points. NOTE: Marriott points don’t expire unless you go 24 months without ANY activity.
Here’s my referral link if you’d like to apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
If you’re interested in applying for the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ instead you can find the 155,000 points welcome offer through the same link.
Please let me know if you use this link to apply and THANK YOU for your support when applying for a new card as it helps support the free resources provided at NO COST to you! 🥰
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